


Sundown

by cataclysma



Category: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Universe, F/M, Forced Bonding, Mentor/Protégé, Organized Crime, Post-Canon, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:47:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25503901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cataclysma/pseuds/cataclysma
Summary: With Dryden Vos dispatched, Qi'ra is now head of Crimson Dawn, and a feared leader among the crime syndicates. Though there can be no favorites among competitors, Lord Maul has taken a shining to this rising star, and seeks her out for a special delivery mission on the remote world of Crait in direct opposition to the work of fellow Syndicate associates: the Pykes.But Maul isn't telling her the whole story.
Relationships: Darth Maul/Qi'ra
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	Sundown

Dathomir had never been a home to Qi’ra. It wasn’t worse than the Silo, but there were plenty of days where she would have taken the White Worm den over the swamps that felt alive with shadows. She had been here with Maul for several months now, coming up on a year -- or at least, that was how long it had been by her count.

Admittedly, it was difficult to count the days anymore. Sundown was difficult to spot on a planet limed in red light.

_“Qi’ra.”_

Maul’s voice cuts through her mind at a special pitch, like the chime of a low bell. Their time together had only strengthened the weight it left behind, whenever he summoned her. And as her eyes slowly open to observe the pitch black of the rock she sits on, she becomes vaguely aware of how late it’s gotten to be. It’s no wonder he is calling her, really. She could only play at meditation for so long.

She did not always relish her trainings with Maul, but they got her away from all the credit grubbers clawing at Crimson Dawn’s coattails. Because of that, her attitude toward them (and him) had started to change. Lord Maul was not someone you really took to on the first or second meeting, after all -- he was coarse, slimy, and too cunning for his own good. But Qi’ra always loved outsmarting men like that. He knew it too, and it was why he had never been anything but honest with her. It was oddly refreshing after so many years with Dryden Vos. That was a man who thought himself more cunning than he really was. She could still remember his nails scraping over her scalp, like she was a pet of his. How he talked down to her in the same breath he held her up in front of the rest of Crimson Dawn like some prize to be won.

And all the rest of it.

 _I never ask for anything twice_ , Dryden would always tell her. And she had owed him more than her life, so there was nothing to protest. All she could do was be patient.

Her patience had paid off, in time. She tries to remember that on the way back to Maul, fiddling with the Crimson Dawn signet still too big for her slender fingers.

 _We’ll have to make you your own,_ Maul had always said whenever he spotted it dangling from the chain around her neck that she had taken to wearing. She’d realized it was a game to him, expecting her to prove her worthiness of such a gift. After all, the ring she held was Dryden’s, and she had failed to protect him. It was no doubt meant to be a punishment, of sorts.

Well, she _had_ killed Dryden. But no one would ever know that truth. No one except--

“You summoned me, my lord?” Qi’ra found herself saying quickly to cut off her own thoughts as she ascended the steps of the temple. Maul stood at the top as he always did, holding a vibroblade ( _her_ vibroblade) in one hand.

“I’m afraid our time together is nearing its end, my lady,” he replied in a dramatic tone of voice that made the hair on her neck prickle. If she had learned anything in her years of living, it was that she couldn’t trust even the ones she needed to trust. Whenever Maul talked like that (dramatic), it sounded like something final. It made her uncomfortable, and tightened all of her muscle groups. The smile that peeled across his face had told her that was at least one of the reasons he’d chosen those words.

Only discipline keeps her face from curling into a sneer.

“I have something I need you to do for me,” he continued, offering his free hand to invite her closer. Ever the obedient servitor, she takes it and allows him to help her up the last few steps. It wasn’t a courtesy. He wanted her to know her place. “The Pykes have come to me with an offer. I think Crimson Dawn can do better.”

How many times had she heard THAT before?

“Don’t we always?” Qi’ra made sure not to force her smile when saying it, nor did she flinch when Maul tightened his grip on her hand. She never considered herself weak, but -- well, she knew better than to pick this battle. “What sort of offer are we talking?”

“As you know, we have collectively failed to recover from that...last unfortunate incident,” Maul offered almost wistfully. She knew what he was talking about, of course, but he would never miss the chance to dramatically elaborate. She just had to count down the moment in her head. “The coaxium. You remember.”

“I remember.” Right on cue. It was like a dance, this game Maul liked to play. He would slowly pitch an obvious scenario or question with an obvious answer, and she would feed him the reply like a grape off a vine. It was an easy way to keep him happy, and a happy Maul kept her out of trouble.

“The Pykes have found a monetary solution to our deficit. They have acquired a laborforce and are set to depart for Crait shortly,” Maul said in the same tone. Qi’ra could feel him waiting for a reaction, but she would not give it over so easily.

“What’s on Crait?” she found herself asking, nose scrunching. Aside from a collective of rich mineral deposits, there was nothing special about the planet. The minerals wouldn’t make up for the fuel cost to transport a laborforce -- _slaves_ \-- to mine them.

“Kyber,” Maul said simply. Qi’ra blinked in surprise, mouth hanging open slightly. He quickly expanded on the thought. “The Empire’s expansion has halted briefly due to some...political concerns.” And the way he said it promised that his hand was somehow involved in creating them. It didn’t matter to her; the Pykes had a head start.

And slaves. He’d told her that for a reason. Not because he cared, but because he knew that _she_ would. Damn him.

Before he could ask for her intentions, Qi’ra flipped her wrist over to get at the communication device nested in her bracelet. A few strokes of her fingers, and a bounty was sent out all of Crimson Dawn and her contacts.

**REWARD: 10,000 IMPERIAL CREDITS SPLIT FOR MINING JOB ON CRAIT. BRING YOUR OWN FREIGHTER. FUNDS TO BE DISTRIBUTED AMONG SURVIVING CREWS.**

A short and simple ad, enough for her regulars to ping her back with their acceptance in short order. No one would think twice about any danger in taking a job on a remote world like Crait. The disclaimer would simply allow her to better divvy up the profits after the fact.

“I’ll take care of it,” she replied softly. This time, she could not keep herself from forcing the smile. Maul quickly took notice, his free hand moving in a flash to grab for her chin to hold it still.

 _Shit._ That had been an error, on her part.

“Will you?” It was practically a whisper; a warning. The Syndicates, for all intents and purposes, were meant to be allies. That was the illusion they all operated under. Qi’ra knew better, because she was considered a favorite and smart enough to keep her mouth shut. But oh, how he _delighted_ in reminding her how fragile that preference was.

It was easy enough for her to fall into calm, as the buzzing urge to defend herself was quickly silenced by honed instinct. She knew her place, even if he thought otherwise. One of her own free hands lifted to rest over the one bruising her chin and causing her gums to ache.

“You don’t need to worry about me, my Lord,” she promised sweetly. _It will all be worth it, in the end. Just a pinch of sugar._ “Crimson Dawn always has your interests at heart.”

It worked. Maul hummed in a deep, brassy tone and slowly peeled his fingers off of her. Qi’ra took the opportunity to lay on a bit of extra medicine by taking his large hand into both of her own. “I am ready, my lord. Let me prove it to you. The Pykes know nothing of the cargo they seek to haul, and there is so little kyber left. You’ve said so yourself.”

As talented as she was, Qi’ra lacked any sort of command over the Force -- not like Maul, who practically exhaled raw power. To her, the kyber was a paycheck. Another stepping stone. But she knew what the kyber was to Maul, and any excuse to disrupt Pyke labor was an easy decision for her to make. In response to this, he made a show of sighing heavily, turning his bruising grip into an apologetic press of his palm to her cheek.

“Good,” he said. She hated how one word settled her nerves so easily. “Yes, I do believe you are ready. I look forward to watching you work. In fact…I have a gift for you.” He passed her the vibroblade and added “Wait here”.

So she did. And as Maul walked off, she took the time to find its balance point, swinging it artfully back and forth. If she kept her focus on that, then she wouldn’t be thinking about what new horror he might inflict upon her. Lord Maul’s gifts were never just gifts; much like everything else, they came with a price.

Before long, he returned with a closed fist. She could see something glowing between his fingers, and a long cord that hung from his palm. Before he could even ask, she planted the tip of the vibroblade into the ground and bowed. It was easy to see teeth in his pleased grin in the reflection of the sword in her hand. Sure enough, he reached forward and bestowed her with a necklace housing a red mineral of a sort. It was not kyber -- but something else. Something native to Dathomir, she imagined.

As she lifted a hand to palm it off of her chest away from the too-large signet ring, she could not help but notice that it looked a bit...liquid, if she looked at it from the right angle. Or...alive? Was something crawling inside of it?

“What is it?” she found herself asking, her eyes struggling to track the movement in the many facets of the small gem.

“You will know, when the time is right,” was all Maul would offer. When she raised her eyes to protest, Maul was already half-way back inside of the temple. “Now go. Bring me my prize, and I will bestow another gift upon your return.”

She imagined his neck in her hand as her fingers tightened around the gem now trapped inside of them.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing this one as the ideas come to me, so I won't promise regular updates. Sorry!! 
> 
> I'm also starting with a high rating because I anticipate it Going Places because of who I am as a person. But you and I are going to find out together when its going to earn that rating. Weeeee.
> 
> Does anyone even look at the Qi'ra/Maul tag anymore? Do people still care about Solo? WHO KNOWS.


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